Interesting case

[T.C]

This case was heard just a few days. A Police vehicle was in collision with a private vehicle on a roundabout. Both parties sustained quite severe injuries although the civilian had the more severe.

At the initial trial, it liability was split 55/45 in favour of the Police driver.

However, on appeal it was overturned and the Police driver was held 65% liable, quite a difference from the original judgement. Oh, and it does not appear that the Police driver was on an emergency call.

Bit of a read, but if you are interested, the transcript of the judgement is here

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/782.html

 

[ScottyUK]

@tu*

I thought it would be black and white but I can see why it wasn't.

A good appeal ruling I reckon.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Sound logic for once.

 

[Tinytim]

It really is a good job we have such learned and wise people making sound judgements like this.

On the other hand it is gobsmacking (sorry for that word) that so many people will have spent so much time and written so many words and earned sooo much money on what is, to simple folk a simple case. The woman plod drove like a twat and broke basic Highway codes end of. She should also be disciplined by the Force for driving like a twat after all that "training". She is, after all, a professional driver, well versed in the rules of the highway compared to the normal everyday Darwinian fekkwit. Christ, that is just a summary and I had to laugh at the pedantic ridiculessness of it all. Talk about splitting hairs and pontificating. (Yes, I'm sure it was serious enough for the guy that got hit by Mrs Plod).

I rest my case,

Yours sincerely, Tinytim, Windbag Extraordinaire QC ( Queert ladyparts)

@tu*

 

[T.C]

She should also be disciplined by the Force for driving like a twat after all that "training". She is, after all, a professional driver, well versed in the rules of the highway compared to the normal everyday Darwinian fekkwit. Christ, that is just a summary and I had to laugh at the pedantic ridiculessness of it all. Talk about splitting hairs and pontificating. (Yes, I'm sure it was serious enough for the guy that got hit by Mrs Plod).

You say "After all that training" the reality is probably more like "After a short assessment".

The suggestion is that it was a local Panda car rather than traffic, and (certainly in my old force) there is virtually no training anymore until someone specialises and needs to be able to drive higher performance vehicles.

Most divisional drivers have no more training or ability than average Joe Public, and even the advanced courses are not as intense as they once were.

 

[Boggymarsh]

An interesting case indeed and certainly begs the question as to why the officer failed to assess the situation ahead of her and slow to a speed that would have averted the collision. I guess only she can answer that.